We Will Survive
by Ghuerswe
Summary: After the events of No Time Left, Ben miraculously survives his fall in Savannah. He later meets up with more survivors, which usually means more trouble. Please tell me what you liked or what you didn't, constructive criticism would be appreciated.
1. Unlikely Circumstances

**BEN**

After everything he went through, it was all ending in some random Savannah alleyway filled with walkers. Ben would die there and be devoured by the ravenous corpses lined-up, waiting to have their turn at him. Then he regained consciousness, and realized he was completely alone.

He had to assess his situation and not freak out. He peered down to look at his body, splashes of undead guts had found their way on his person, miraculously keeping away from his open wounds. Yes _wounds_, Ben had been shot after all.

Ben remembered a tidbit of information Travis once shared with him before the world practically ended. "Did you know? One in ten people will survive a shot in the head," he had said. They had circled onto the topic when they had been gushing over a new game that had come out.

He felt light-headed, and the overwhelming smell of rotten human beings made Ben want to hurl. He shifted around using his clean palm to wipe away any walker remains on the metal stabbing through his abdomen. Then he tried getting up.

He held back his screams of agony, making them come out as quiet rasps, as he used his working limbs to push himself up. His hands and feet planted firmly on the ground like he was making a bridge of sorts out his body.

Then, nearly passing out, Ben threw himself onto his side the second he freed himself. That's when he allowed himself the luxury to lay there and ponder his survival. He should be dead, chewed up, and rotting right where he had just been. So why wasn't he?

Unbeknownst to Ben at the time, Kenny had actually fought off quite a few walkers before he had shot Ben and ran off. An unconscious Ben was covered in spattered undead guts as his redneck companion kept them away. Ben was silent and smelt dead, so the walkers just chased after Kenny.

He groaned softly as he gathered himself to stand, stumbling into the wall as he did so for support. Too weak to stand on his own, Ben took to using the wall as his crutch. Dragging his feet to the corner, Ben gave a glance to see if his coast was clear.

Seeing no dead in sight, either to his left or right, Ben decided to leave his alley and continued to follow the direction he believed Lee and the others had gone, it was sunset so Ben had to wonder how long he had been out for and if he could catch up at all.

He winded up getting lost, disoriented from a combination of blood-loss and nausea. He had made it a block or two before he couldn't tell where he was or had been anymore. He found a red house on the nearby street the seemed barricaded rather well and thought about resting up in there.

Aside from boarded up windows and the fact that it didn't look broken into, it looked vulnerable. Hell, the door was unlocked and Ben opened it absent-minded, not thinking that it would even be locked in the first place.

The inside was rather empty, there was furniture scattered about the room Ben was now standing in. An open archway lead to what he guessed was the kitchen and there was a staircase on his left. It sort of reminded him of the place Lee and the others holed up in before Clementine vanished.

Ben took it upon himself to check every nook and cranny this house had to see if it was really all that safe. It wasn't nearly as big as the other house, only two stories with no basement or attic. A single bathroom, two bedrooms, the living room, a laundry room, and a kitchen/dining room mix.

The living room was void, just as Ben had noticed before. Ben discarded his jacket and hoodie in favor of a clean long-sleeve red shirt he had found in the laundry room. Ben was disappointed that the kitchen had no more food but it had a nice looking serrated carving knife that was now his.

He nearly threw up in the bathroom, a woman and child had both died in there. He noticed the pistol in the woman's hand. She had killed herself and her child. Ignoring the two corpses, Ben found some medical supplies in the cabinet underneath the sink.

He went to work stitching the front and back holes of his wound, which required a mirror to do. But not before he wretched in pain from the disinfectant he poured on both sides. There was a bump coming from upstairs but he couldn't hear it over the ringing in his ears.

He bandaged it up and returned his new found shirt to his torso, then he began the procedure for his forehead. Ben could now see why he survived, the bullet merely scraped by the left side of his scalp. Calling it a scrape was an understatement, seeing how deep it actually was.

Then came the disinfectant, Ben held back that scream, and he began stitching. Then he was interrupted by a third bump, causing him to jump and cut the tip of his ear with the needle. He hurriedly stitched the rest up and wrapped a few bandages while a fourth bump was made.

He was panicking but he had managed to fix himself up before there was a crash coming from the upstairs bedrooms. He fled the bathroom running for the knife he left out on the living room coffee table, just as a walker fell down a flight of stairs to greet him.

Gripping the knife, Ben froze as the undead man lunged after him. Ben was holding out the blade defensively and the walker, being stupid and careless enough, got a mouthful of the weapon. Ben yelped and slashed down, ripping the walker's jaw off, slobber and rotten blood dripped from its maw.

The undead man, now without any mandibles or working arms due to its tumble down the steps, became very calm. Ben stood there along with it, confused and mortified. Ben, mouth gaping, trained his weapon back on the walker, prepared to strike back.

Only now it did nothing, it was less than a foot away yet it seemed entirely uninterested in Ben as a meal. Ben backed up a couple steps and the walker stayed right where it was. He circled the statue-like corpse as if studying it. He grabbed its arm, still ready to kill, and let it flop back to its side.

This gave Ben an idea, it made him sick, but it was worth a shot. Ben grabbed pliers from the master bedroom, where this dead one came from, and used them to pull out every tooth the walker still had. Now if it decided it was going to teeth Ben it couldn't, only gum him.

Next Ben ripped a hole in the bed's blanket and made himself a poncho. He sawed an arm off the walker (Jacob, according to his work clothes) and used what rotten blood was left to coat his new poncho to disguise himself. Ben then smeared some of it on his cheeks and pulled Jacob outside.

Jacob and Ben wandered through town, any walkers that noticed the two left them alone. Ben couldn't help feeling a little proud at the two things he managed to learn on his own. It also made him feel even lonelier and isolated. Jacob the walker didn't count as company in Ben's mind.

After wandering Savannah mindlessly for about an hour, Ben found the Marsh House. He also found a familiar look vehicle waiting out front, but he decided to dismiss it. All he managed to find was one walker with bruising on its throat. A fresh walker, he probably died today.

Ben let out a sigh of relief, having seen no signs of Lee, Clementine, Omid, or Christa. This must mean they saved her, right? That has to be it, of course by now Lee Everett would have died. Ben stifled back a sob drawing the attention of the new walker.

Ben pondered for a second, thinking about having two walker pals on his journey to reunite with his group. He instead forced his knife into the stranger's temple, killing him for a second time. Now it was just Ben and Jacob again.

It was getting dark, so Ben chose a cozy room at the Marsh House to stay in. Reluctantly, Ben stabbed Jacob through his temple, not enjoying the idea of sleeping anywhere near a living dead guy. He would just have to reapply his disguise in the morning.

… … … … …

**REX**

"Boats, why the fuck would there be any boats left?" Rex silently cursed as he stubbed his toe, kicking the corner of a brick building. He turned to his only travel companion, Sonya, a scowl planted firmly on his face.

Sonya was a staggering six feet tall, scrawny from starvation but fighting hard to keep her toned muscles. Her dreadlocks flowed just past her shoulders, a single lock on the right of her face was gold while the rest was black. She looked back at Rex, her rich brown eyes locked with his dull green ones.

"We had to give it a shot, Rottweiler, besides you didn't offer any better ideas," she replied coolly. Rex seemed to expect her reply but he still let it get to him. His usually pale face boiled over red as he fought to control the volume of his response.

"Don't ever call me that again," he growled, thankful he maintained his indoor voice. He would never forget the reason why she nicknamed him 'Rottweiler', and it always upset him. She had found him crying over the corpse of a dog that he killed because it was gnawing on his shoulder.

"I don't see why you hate the nickname so much, it proves you're five-and-a-half feet of softy," she snickered. Rex turned away and blushed, he figured she must love teasing him. It was ridiculous, she always did this to him, and he never knew how to react.

"I'm five-foot-eight, atleast get that right," he added bitterly, causing Sonya to chuckle. It must of have been strange seeing the two of them side-by-side. Of course this type of duo wasn't _that_ rare, it couldn't have been. "So, what now?"

"Good question, find somewhere to spend the night I guess," Sonya suggested. After a long day of wandering around looking for something that might as well have never existed, some sleep sounded good. Rex let loose a yawn, causing Sonya to yawn with him.

"How's about right over there?" Rex pointed at a large manor with a lone station wagon parked out front. Unsurprisingly there were a few creeps sprawled out in the street, dead. Rex and Sonya nodded in agreement that the place looked perfect.

"Just hope we're the only ones in here," Sonya added as she opened up the entrance. Rex quickly closed it behind him, making sure the click it made was as quiet as physically possible. The place was hauntingly empty and void of life.

There was one room with three creeps inside, but all three had been taken care of. Rex took it upon himself to search them, if they were survivors that meant they might have supplies. One of the three, the one with a name tag with the name 'Jacob', had his right arm missing, no jaw, and no teeth.

"So much for being the only ones here," Rex remarked, scrummaging for supplies. It was a fruitless endeavor because none of them yielded anything. He took out his frustration on a nearby bowling bag with a swift kick. He wasn't expecting the crunchy noise that followed.

Inside was the motionless, rotten head of a woman. Rex instantly felt sick to his stomach and motioned for Sonya to stay away from it when she got closer. Rex and Sonya deserted the place, not wanting to smell the putrid odor any longer.

A few doors down was the room they decided to stay in. There was only one problem with it, someone was already sleeping there. Sonya was the one that approached the body. Rex waited anxiously in the corner of the room.

The boy in the bed had been bandaged up, he suffered some sort of head injury. He had short light brown hair, almost blonde, and very feint traces of facial hair. He was tall and lanky, Rex guessed, by looking at the impression he left from underneath his blanket.

Sonya shuffled back to Rex, keeping as quiet as she could. "He's breathing," she informed Rex. That meant he was still alive, or atleast that was what Rex was hoping. He's heard plenty creeps snarl and moan, but never just breathe.

Rex decided the only way to know for sure, if the guy was living or not, was to wake him up. He kicked the end of the bed, causing it to jolt and shaking the unconscious kid from slumber. The kid was startled and fumbled out of bed, reaching to the nearby dresser for his weapon.

"Calm down, man, we're not going to hurt ya," Rex stated calmly, raising his hands defensively. This made the blue-eyed stranger halt, he slowly turned his heads to face the trespassers. Rex noticed the fearful look the kid had in eye. "Hey, I'm Rex."

"Ben, m-my name's Ben," the kid stammered, he couldn't have been much older than Sonya judging by the way his voice cracked. Sonya took her turn at an introduction and the three of them just stood there, silent for what seemed like hours.

"Nice place you got here, Ben, how long have you been here?" Sonya asked sitting down in a nearby chair. Ben sat down on the edge of his mattress with a heavy sigh. Rex decided to keep standing, it made him feel taller than everyone else.

"It's not mine, I was only staying here for the night," Ben explained. Rex leaned back into the wall behind him, letting Ben speak as much as he felt like. "I'm just looking for my group. I got separated from them today and I just want to find them again."

"Maybe we can help, it's just been me and Rottweiler here for months now, a new group sounds good to me," Sonya relayed to Ben. That nickname earned Sonya a sideways stare from Rex. "Maybe you could tell us what they looked like, so we can help you find them," Sonya suggested.

"Okay, sure," Ben agreed. "First there's a woman, Christa, she's tall and wears her hair in a bun. Then there's Omid, he's short with really short hair and a patch of hair right here," Ben pointed just under his bottom lip, "and then there's Clementine," Ben trailed off after that.

"Christa, Omid, and Clementine," Sonya repeated. Rex chuckled at the description of Christa and Omid. They reminded him of him and Sonya, except Rex hasn't had short hair since preschool and his facial hair more closely resembled Ben's than Omid's.

"So this is your room, Ben?" Rex asked, getting a nod from Ben as his answer. "Alright then we'll be right next door then," Rex said as he signaled Sonya to leave with him. "We leave tomorrow morning, and we'll find your group," Rex assured.

… … … … …

**SONYA**

Sleep wouldn't come easy that night. Sonya chose the room across from Ben's and Rex took the one just next door to Ben. She had pressed the chair in her room against the door to prevent any unwanted guests from entering.

It's been about four months now since the outbreak, atleast that's what she guessed. Sonya had been traveling with a group near the beginning, but ended up all alone after the first couple of weeks. When she found Rex, she didn't think he would have lived as long as he did.

He was hunched over, sobbing heavily with a bloody bite mark on his shoulder. Rex clutched the dog's corpse and held it close. When she approached he became defensive and pulled out a pistol. Tears staining his pale cheeks, and his messy dark brown hair matted to his fore head with sweat.

Sonya had closed her eyes, trying to drift to sleep in that lonely hotel room. Using the memory to help her, but it didn't. The prospect of traveling with another group of people seemed strange. She hasn't had human contact with anyone other than Rex in a long time.

Now that she really thought about it, she never asked Rex about his first few weeks in this mess. It wasn't that she didn't care, he never brought it up and was never prompted to. Sonya was probably hoping that Rex hadn't seen much just because he was a few years younger than her.

Sonya resolved to share her past experiences with her new group and learn about their past struggles as well. Killing undead all by yourself for any amount of time can leave you inept at socializing with the living.

After she feel asleep, her dreams were of the time before. She went to high school with all her friends, friends that were now all dead, and they all talked about some popular boy at school, also dead. It was a calm dream but it left Sonya feeling bittersweet the next morning.

The boys were waiting for her in the downstairs foyer. Neither of them appeared to have gotten any rest. Dark circles under their eyes, of course most people were bound to have those in today's world. They didn't linger in the Marsh House for long, leaving as soon as all three were gathered.

"So, Ben, have any ideas about where your group might have run off to?" Rex asked, opening the front door. Ben shook his head to answer. Great, they were on a wild goose chase. "You never discussed it with them, or even heard them discuss it around you?" Rex pressed.

"Christa would probably take them away from the coast, stick to high ground, and away from cities," Ben answered. That was all Sonya and Rex needed to hear, they had talked about going to more rural areas and the countryside. Rex decided he was taking the lead.

This trio trekked for miles away from Savannah, occasionally stopping for a meal. Luckily, Sonya had the insight to pack up four days worth of food and water while in Savannah. However, she had to change the rations because of the unexpected third member of their small group.

After just two days of travel, they set up camp in the thick of a nearby forest. They worked out a watch schedule between them for nights and made themselves at home for the time being. Rex went scavenging for berries, Sonya hunted down animals, and Ben filtered out water from a nearby river.

Ben voiced his concerns about staying in the forest for too long and losing his last group. Rex and Sonya figured it was smarter to worry about themselves before some other group they didn't know. Plus, there was no use dieing to find someone already dead.

It was calm at that camp for all of three days, then _they_ came. A group of rogues and bandits saw Sonya while she was hunting. They followed her back to camp and then ambushed her and the others. Sonya noticed how Ben nearly passed out when he saw them approaching.

Rex reached and pulled out his gun, which was shot right out of his hand along with his left pointer finger. He stifled a scream and staggered back. Sonya was the next to act but she couldn't raise he weapon before a gun had been pointed at her point-blank.

"What a nice camp y'all have 'ere," one of the men said. He grabbed Rex's backpack and ate a few of the berries he found the day before. Rex tried to protest but the man slapped him across the face so hard he fell over. Sonya wanted to scream for him but she had a pistol pressed against her temple.

"Don't worry your pretty li'l head there Missy," the man holding her to gunpoint growled, pushing her temple with the barrel. "We could use some people like you where we come from," he added, easing the gun off her head. He took a few steps back, allowing her to stand.

"Y'all are coming with us," the other man said, whipping Rex's pack over his shoulder. "Connor, take this one," he ordered shoving Rex into another man, "Gavin, you take that one," he pointed to Ben, who was frozen with fear, "Levi, you're taking the girl?"

"Why, yes I am," the man holding the gun still trained on Sonya replied. "I've taken a liking to her," he added with a unsettling grin across his face. He motioned to her with his gun and Sonya reluctantly followed. She could only think about how she might get out of this.

… … … … …


	2. Unbelievable Turn of Events

**BEN**

Things could have been worse, that was a thought repeating itself numerous times in Ben's mind. Rex was a finger short of ten, Sonya was getting unsettling stares from this 'Levi' character, and Ben felt utterly useless and terrified.

"Y'all better not try something stupid, we'll blow your damn heads off if ya make us," Connor warned as he saw Rex squirm under his captor's firm grasp. Ben couldn't see a feasible way out and he kept darting eyes eyes around, ricocheting his attention off every inch of the forest.

"So, where are you guys taking us?" Rex asked, having settled down again. His hand stopped bleeding, for the most part, thanks to a makeshift bandaged fastened out of his torn shirt sleeve. The seven of them had been trudging along for hours now, with no end of forest in sight.

"Our camp, it was pretty close to where yours was set up, we saw the smoke from your fires," their apparent leader, whose name has yet to be said, stated. The man had signs of age and wore a flannel shirt and torn jeans. His gray hair contained in a baseball cap.

"A trailer park, we set up a barricade and went on supply runs a whole lot. No walkers, not in a long time, and we're actually starting to grow some crops," he continued. The man pulled his cap off to wipe his forehead of sweat. He gestured with it, "Welcome."

The wall that was constructed reminded Ben of the Motel. A large wooden fence reenforced by dumpsters and broken down cars. A woman stood atop it, a rifle in hand. She waved at the four men, and made a short audible whistle. The gate slowly opened to allow entry.

"What did ya find out there Christian? Aside from the three children," the woman joked. She had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She was scrawny but still looked to be healthy. The leader, Christian, tossed Rex's bag of berries at her to answer.

Speaking of Rex, as soon as the woman noticed his missing finger she hurried over to him. "What happened out there? Come with me, we've got a doctor and she'll take care of you," the woman spewed at Rex. His face twisted in silent confusion as he was pulled away from the rest of us.

"Ya might want to follow her," Christian plainly stated. It took him a moment before Ben realized that the comment was directed at him. Ben looked at Sonya, not wanting to leave her with these strange men. "She can go with," Christian added, giving Ben a slight push.

They came up to gray-blue trailer, its door haphazardly hanging on a single hinge dangling open. Ben saw Rex being forced in and went in after him. Rex was seated on a stool while an elderly woman looked at his hand, so focused she hadn't noticed Ben or Sonya enter her home.

The other woman had seen them however, and made sure her friend knew as well. "Hello there, you'll need to wait until Wendy is done with your friend here," she informed Ben and Sonya. Wendy looked up from Rex with a grunt of disapproval.

"Jess, why don't you and these two kids wait outside while I work?" Wendy requested, her voice scratched at Ben's eardrums. Jess escorted the two teens outside and tried to close Wendy's door. The screen flopped over as the whole thing flung back, wide open on a single hinge.

"So what happened to you kids?" Jess asked, a genuine sense of worry clung to her words. Ben saw no reason to lie to her about everything that's transpired as of late. He rubbed his side, which had gone numb quite some time ago, and decided to start at the alleyway.

"I got separated from my group, fell and nearly died," Ben began, he pulled up his shirt to show his other bandage to Jess. "I was impaled, and things got bad. Kenny, a member of my old group, tried to save me but it didn't work. The last thing I remember was him shooting me so I wouldn't turn."

"And that didn't work either?" Jess concluded. Jess looked between Ben's two injuries and then turned to face Wendy's trailer again. "What about him?" she asked as she turned back. Ben was about to continue telling his story when Sonya stepped up for him.

"Shot by one of your men," she said coldly. Jess didn't seemed surprised, just upset. "The three of us were out camping in the woods when they came down on us," Sonya explained further, "We were just going to defend ourselves and shots were fired."

Connor walked up at that moment, he had his mouth slightly open as if he were about to say something, but Jess beat him to it. "Why the hell were you shooting at children?!" she demanded. The sudden spark of anger startled Connor.

"It hadn't meant to shoot his finger off, just the gun," he tried to explain, running his hands through his thick blond hair. "Look, sis, I'm sorry. That's the truth, it wasn't supposed to go down the way it had." His excuse didn't seem to calm Jess down at all however.

"I'm not the one you should apologize to," she pouted, crossing her arms. "Now go on, tell the kid it was an accident, if you're lucky he'll forgive ya," she continued. Connor seemed to be obedient and left for Wendy's trailer. "Sorry my idiot brother had to go and do that."

"What's with these mixed messages?" Sonya asked out of the blue. "In the woods they were utter assholes and here, in their own camp, we get some decent treatment? What's up with this place? What's the deal?" she asked, staring Jess down.

"Look, people nowadays aren't as friendly as they used to be," Jess sighed, throwing her arms back down. "Those men care about _their_ people and will act like jerks to protect them," she continued, "Don't hold it against them, please?"

"I don't trust 'em," Sonya replied. "I don't ever plan to." Ben silently agreed with her. Those men came in without warning and attacked without hesitation. Now they were in some place surrounded by unfamiliar folks, who may want to hurt them.

"Hey, bandages!" a raspy voice called out. Ben instantly knew who was being addressed and went running to where Rex was. Sonya followed behind him, probably worried about Rex. "Your buddy here is going to be alright. I need to check your bandages."

Rex passed Ben on his way in, his left hand was wrapped in a blue cloth. Wendy undid Ben's bandage atop his head. "You stitch yourself up?" she asked, Ben nodded. "God, ya suck at it," she blatantly said. "I'll redo all of it," she declared, placing Ben down on her couch.

"We'll this isn't my only bandage," Ben whimpered, knowing he might regret it later. "See look at my side, I got a pole stuck through a few days back," he explained. Wendy undid those wrappings also and let out a sigh when she saw the condition it was in.

"Look at all this dead flesh," she growled softly. Ben peered over and went pale at the sight of it. His skin was a putrid mesh of yellow and purple, and puss leaked out from his wound. "I'm gonna need to lop all of it off," Wendy added, "Kid, you're not gonna be moving for a while," she warned.

"What, why?" Ben asked, not bothering to hide the crack in his voice. Instead of answering, Wendy shoved a wooden stick into Ben's mouth and made him bite down hard. She motioned for him to lay on his good side so she could work on his bad side.

"No painkillers, and no way to put you under without harming ya further. This is gonna hurt like the worst kind of bitch," Wendy warned Ben again. She ordered Ben to stay there while she got someone to help hold him down.

… … … … …

**REX**

The old hag that fixed up Rex's hand came wobbling out of her home, towards Rex and Sonya. The two were still conversing with Jess over their position. All three of them silenced when Wendy walked up without Ben.

"His side is looking real awful. I'm gonna need someone to hold him steady while I cut out all the dead flesh he's got there," she explained solemnly. "If he stays awake through the procedure he'll be in a lot of pain, and he might be screaming something foul."

"Rex can't do it but I can," Sonya volunteered. Rex geared up to respond to her comment, however Sonya stopped him. "You only have one good hand left, and I have two. Guess who'll be more useful right now," she explained to him.

Rex faltered for a second, his expression went through many different phases like the moon. Finally his resolve boiled up from within him, "I don't care, Ben's one of us. If I can help him, then dammit, I'm gonna help him," he replied, planting his foot firmly on the ground.

"Jess, have the men on watch," Wendy told her younger friend. "This kid, Ben, will be loud enough to draw those walker things right to us," she informed. Jess gave a nod and left for her fellow survivors to give them the warning.

Rex and Sonya followed the elderly woman back to her living quarters and found Ben laying on his good side exposing the disgusting pus-filled injury Wendy was going to treat. Ben weakly greeted his two companions as they filled the room.

Since he was on his side, Ben's feet were together, making it easy for Rex to hold them down with his right hand alone. Sonya put one hand on Ben's visible shoulder and clamped his wrists together with her other hand. Wendy silently began working on him.

Rex couldn't look, he thought he could but the second she started hacking away the decaying part of his friend he nearly puked. His eyes sewn shut and he tightened his grip on Ben's ankles. Ben's voice was the only other thing Rex experienced for a long time.

He jerked violently under Rex's grip and released a whirlwind of horrid screeching. His voice would shatter every now and then, making him sound like some kind of dying animal. Eventually he quieted down and slumped over, passed out.

Rex stayed still, not wanting to look just yet. The sounds of flesh being ripped could barely be heard, Rex's own heartbeat nearly drowned it all out. After what felt like an eternity, Wendy gave Rex and Sonya the okay. They both let go and Rex cautiously opened his eyes.

There was quite some dried blood coating the couch where Ben lay. His side was sewn up nice with new stitches and Wendy worked carefully to dress his wound. Ben's breathing was feint but Rex sighed from relief when he heard it. Despite his howling before, Ben seemed so at peace.

Sonya and Rex left Wendy to take care of Ben's treatment. Christian, made his way over to the two. He had a stern look across his face, Rex could tell he was about to say something important. Christian eyed them for a second before he began.

"When we met, we said we could use people like you," he said. "There are only four men, two women, and two children in this camp of ours," he continued to explain. "If the three of you pitch in, help fortify our walls, go on supply runs, and help us grow our crops then y'all can stay."

Sonya didn't give Christian a response, just looked at Rex. Rex stared back at her, not knowing what to make of the proposition. Sonya made her decision, "We stay until Ben is feeling better, Rottweiler and I will help out until then. The three of us will decide to leave or stay after that."

Cringing from the nickname, Rex nodded to show his support for Sonya's choice. Christian shrugged and gave a halfhearted, "Alright then," before walking away. Rex noticed Christian talking to the other members of his camp, probably relaying the news Sonya just gave him.

The week that followed was one of hard-work for Rex and Sonya. Sonya went on supply runs with Connor and Gavin. Rex stayed back was put on watch and tended to the crops they had growing with Jess. Ben was taken care of and slowly got better by the day, thanks to Wendy.

"You forgive him?" Jess asked Rex one day. She was standing atop the wall keeping watch for Sonya and the others who had gone out on the third supply run that week. Rex was pulling weeds out with the two kids, Mindy and Kaitlin.

"Yeah, he didn't mean to shoot my digit," Rex replied, wiping a smudge of dirt from Mindy's rosy cheek. He turned and gave Jess the sincerest smile he could, "Your niece is really messy, ya know?" he said in reference to Mindy, Connor's daughter. Jess just chuckled as she nodded.

Mindy was about six, or so she kept insisting by wagging her fingers around, "I'm this many!" she cheered. That kind of simple joy brought genuine happiness to Rex. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and would put flowers behind her ears.

Kaitlin was actually ten, she was much more serious and acted much more grown up than Rex expected from someone two-thirds his age. She had real short brown hair and rarely spoke at all. When Rex asked asked who her family was, Jess responded with "Never met them personally."

Christian and Levi were hammer in more boards into the walls, trying to make it more sturdy. Levi was the one guy Rex never trusted, he came to respect and even like most people at this camp but not Levi. He just seemed slimy and mischievous.

"Dammit, we're outta nails," Christian cursed, Rex heard him from where he was. Jess looked over her shoulder to Rex then Christian. "Jess, how long ago did they go out?" Christian asked, wiping some sweat off his forehead.

"Half an hour ago, why?" she responded. Christian gave a hand signal, one to open up the gates. "Where are you going?" she asked as she followed his instructions. He checked his person for his pistol and his knife before answering her.

"They'll be in town for awhile longer, if things have run smoothly, so I'm gonna catch up and add something to their shopping list," he answered as he passed through the gate. Levi walked up and stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"I'll go, I'm faster and my vision is way better than yours is old timer," he stated. Levi stepped in front of him with his rifle in hand. "If you get yourself in trouble out there, these people will be down a reliable leader," he reasoned further.

With that Christian backed down, opting to instead join Jess on watch duty. Levi signaled for them close the gates behind as he left. Rex just felt his skin crawl at the thought of Levi approaching Sonya, regardless of intention.

… … … … …

**GAVIN**

It's been about a week since those three kids joined everybody back home. One of them was worse for wear but the other two, Rex and Sonya, have been working diligently. Gavin wasn't initially sure that they would help and was pleasantly surprised when they pitched in.

Connor, Sonya, and Gavin had been trekking through a nearby town. The scavengers stayed close to each other and grabbed anything that looked useful. Since Sonya has only just begun scavenging with Connor and Gavin, the two men had to show where certain things were.

It was rare for a walker to cross paths with them but when they did, they stood no chance. The only time things got iffy was in the pharmacy. About twelve of them came pouring from the back of the store. Connor was nearby and was pushed to the ground by the things.

Sonya reacted as fast as she could and whipped out hatchet Connor had given her when she joined the scavenging team. She hacked away at a few of the decaying masses. Gavin ran up to help, his swift boot launched a corpse off of his friend. He swooped his hand down to dig Connor out.

The trio started bashing skulls and stopped when the last dead one had its face caved in. Connor, along with every one else, was panting to hard to say anything. He settled for a nod of appreciation in substitution for the words, "thank you."

Things went pretty smoothly after that. Connor found a weeks worth of canned beans, Sonya found another backpack, and Gavin found some painkillers in a residence down the street. After about forty minutes or so the three went over their stash.

While they were making note of their findings several gunshots resounded from about a mile away. In the direction of the camp, but much too close to be from the camp. Only when they saw Levi sprinting at full speed from about a hundred walkers did they know what it was.

Connor pulled out his revolver and Sonya quickly followed suit. After it finally clicked in Gavin's mind he fished out his shotgun. The three stood in the middle of the road firing at the massive herd of undead chasing Levi.

Gavin noticed Connor looking for an escape route and slowly made his way towards an alleyway as he stilled fired off rounds. Gavin gave a whistle to Sonya getting her to follower Connor with him. Levi, still sprinting, caught up and lurched forward to hyperventilate.

Connor was climbing up a fire escape with Sonya not far behind. Gavin grabbed for the ladder not noticing Levi behind him. The undead were slowly catching up, just now finding the four living humans left in the whole city.

When Gavin made it onto the first platform above ground he whirled around. He reached out for Levi's hand eager to help him up. Levi took it and heaved upward, getting saved just before the walkers filled the entire alley.

"Shit, that was close, huh?" Gavin sighed, his shotgun was sacrificed in order for him to get up there but Gavin would rather stay alive than keep a stupid gun that would only delay the inevitable done there. He turned to see Levi thwack him across the face.

It rendered Gavin speechless, what kind of treachery was this? Gavin fell over without making a sound. He crushed two or three dead as he hit the ground. The last thing he saw, before the herd went ravenous as they tore him apart, was Levi's disgustingly evil grin.

… … … … …

**CONNOR**

A horrific yowl came from the alley below. Connor knew all to well what that had to mean, someone didn't make it. When Levi alone made it to the roof with Sonya and him, Connor knew it was Gavin. Connor couldn't hold back the tears that came with the realization.

Gavin was his best friend since the two where just stupid teenagers. Now the guy who always had his back, even in dark times like these, was dead. He needed to know what happened, it would help him take it. He approached Levi,who had an apologetic look on his face.

"I didn't have the strength to reach the ladder, Gavin hoisted me up and he was still down there when those monsters reached us," Levi explained. It sounded like Gavin, going out trying help someone else. The jackass always did the right thing and never got rewarded for it.

"Look, those things are going to be busy for awhile," Levi stated. Connor glared at him and Levi threw up his hands defensively before saying, "It's the truth. If we're gonna get outta this mess, then we got get moving now."

Connor solemnly agreed, "Alright, we circle around town. We don't want to stay out in the open for too long. No gunfire unless you're backed up in a corner," he stated. Sonya and Levi both nodded, accepting his plan of action. Without another word between them, the trio ran through the city.

They were quick and silent enough that the dead wouldn't hear them over the moaning. Once or twice Sonya dispatched of one the walkers, but no real trouble hit them along the way. Levi suggested they take a breathe in the building at the edge of town, next to the forest.

Having just run all around a decent size town, while remaining stealthy, and getting to their current location in under ten minutes no one objected. Connor figured that it would be easy enough to run back to base even after the walker her spread throughout town.

The building was unfurnished and smell foul. After an inconclusive search, nothing of value was found, neither wee there any walkers or roamers. It wall a dull gray inside, cement walls and floors. Connor didn't really know what this place was but didn't care, it was secure.

Connor called Levi and Sonya over to talk. He had something he needed them to know before they all went back. Connor knelt down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal teeth marks. The area around it already looked infected and disgusting. Levi and Sonya both seemed shocked as Connor rose.

"I don't have long anymore, I just wanted to get back Mindy and Jess before I died," he admitted. "I'm a dead man walking right now, so if shit goes too far south let me handle it. I'm already on the fast track to hell," Connor said.

Connor looked away for a second, not wanting to look at their faces as he said it. He heard a harsh smacking sound followed by a thud. Connor immediately switched back to see Levi standing over an unconscious Sonya.

"What the f-" Connor almost shouted, before Levi came in with a clean punch right to his jaw. Connor, with his legs already pretty weak, fell over with a sickening thud as the back of his head bashed the cement floor on impact. Levi crouched down next to his former friend, with a wicked grin.

"It's my lucky day," he started, before stomping on Connor's side. "I killed Gavin, and you're one foot in the grave," he continued, almost chuckling. "Here's what's gonna happen Connor, I'm going to beat ya to near death and let you die slow. While you're dying, I'll have fun with the girl!"

"You sick fuck!" Connor spat, causing Levi to burst out laughing. Sonya remained motionless on the floor as Connor failed to get up and Levi wailed on him. "Why? Why are you doing this?" he asked when Levi took a second to position himself above Connor.

"Because it's fun!" he declared. "Now, like I said, I'll leave you to turn so you can kill the girl when I'm done with her," he explained. This caused Connor to lash out, or try at least. Levi retaliated and ended that there. "Let the fun times begin!"

… … … … …


End file.
